The recent New York magazine interview with Gainsbourg–Birkin offspring, actress/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg reminds us that Todd Hayne’s impressionistic Bob Dylan biopic, “I’m Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan,” will have its debut next month at Cannes. Gainsbourg plays Dylan’s girlfriend, Sarah.
Or rather, one of the Dylans’ girlfriends. Dylan’s being played by five different people in the film, including, Cate Blanchett (pictured below), Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and two unknowns (including Ben Whishaw and mostly newcomer Marcus Carl Franklin who will also appear in Michel Gondry’s “Be Kind Rewind” scheduled for later this year).
Also set to appear in the film are Julianne Moore, Adrien Brody, indie-rock comedian David Cross (?) and Michelle Williams. It’s been 5 years since Haynes’ 2002 Sirk homage, “Far From Heaven,” so expectations are likely to be high (or people are gonna ask, where the hell you been? With a Dylan film? Probably development hell).
Apparently the film is going to be non-traditional (with 6 Dylans, gee really?) and will have a poetic (read: weird) narrative. According to the always-reliable Wikipedia, some Dylan songs will actually appear in the film including, “Ballad of a Thin Man.” One would hope they get the rights to the title track as well.
The soundtrack looks great too. The list of artists cheduled to cover Zimmy songs includes (so far), Stephen Malkmus (“Maggie’s Farm” and “Ballad of a Thin Man”), the Hold Steady (b-side ” Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”), and Calexico — with Jim James, Willie Nelson, and the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn.
Download: Bob Dylan – “When The Deal Goes Down” (mp3)
Download: Charlotte Gainsbourg – “5 55” (mp3)
Download: Stephen Malkmus – “Baby C’mon” (mp3)